Dragon's Run

- The party found an abandoned hamlet on the outskirts of Dragon’s Run. They killed the remaining wandering undead, and when they settled for the night, they were surrounded by a strange purple mist. The mist had transported them to the Nightmare Lands, leaving them on a dark sandy beach illuminated by three different sized moons, and large glowing orbs all along the coast. They fought several strange floating heads, climbed the steep cliff, and met “Walks Alone” and later the Abber nomads. They learned that they could escape the Nightmare Lands if they went to the City of Nod. After battling strange creatures on the journey through the forest of the island and wandering the odd streets of Nod, the party came upon The Clinic for the Mentally Distressed and met Dr. Illhousen. He was able to hypnotize them and send them into Sylus the sailor’s nightmare. They battled his inner demons, and creatures summoned by the Nightmare Man that had taken over poor Sylus’ mind. All of the adventurers were transported back to the hamlet near Dragon’s Run except for Bogdog, who remains in the Nightmare Lands in Dr. Illhousen’s clinic.

- Killed the Wolf Pack leader as she was about to hack the merchant’s son into little pieces in their sewer hideout under the Nine Lions Taproom.

- Returned the boy (who seemed drugged) to Dennen. Dennen arranged for him to be taken to the merchant. Said he would arrange for the party to meet with the merchant Lord Gelimer for their reward.

- The next day the went to Lord Gelimer’s estate in Riverview. They were invited to a banquet, and were asked cryptic questions, which they failed (so they did not get a guest house in the Riverview district)

- Guards of Dragon’s Run entered the manor and attempted to arrest the adventurers. Sir Gallantine had ordered their arrest for “friendly fire”

- The party resisted, fought and killed the guards, and proceeded to burn down the manor. Fat Lord Gelimer was too heavy to be escorted from the manor, he as well as the other merchants at the banquet were killed in the fire. The fire spread and burnt a large portion of Riverview.

- The party escaped the city and are now wandering the open plains of Dragon’s Run. They encountered an unoccupied ork camp. As they were leaving, the orcs were returning with three massive ogres! The beasts were ready to charge, and the party luckily escaped.

- They have been surviving in the wilderness for a few days now, avoiding the dangers that lurk… Things are looking pretty grim.

“In the dark alley behind the Nine Lions Taproom, you stand catching your breath while yourfoes now lie dead on the cobblestone street; their blood flowing in intricate patterns.Approaching from a distance, you see a lone figure moving in your direction. This figureappears to be quite tall with a slight muscular build and long hair, but the darkness preventsyou from seeing any further details…"

- This was how the party came to meet Vojona: the female ork, axe-weilding thief.
She recognized the dead men in the alley that the party had killed. She mentioned that they once
tried to rob her and regretfully, one got away. She knew them to be part of a gang calling
themselves the “Wolf Pack” and she willingly offered to help the party eliminate them.

- They entered the kitchen of the Nine Lions Taproom and found a secret hatch in the floor leading to the sewers. They went down about 50’ into the dank stone surroundings, and managed to ambush the Wolf Pack in their secret hideout. They did not, however, find the missing merchant’s son.

- After having killed the Wolf Pack leader; a tall man with long white hair and a grey wolf pelt
worn over his body, the adventurers took Mongo, the fallen dwarf, to the Church of Ellophias for
healing. The priestess read a scroll of resurrection, which he survived. He has been ordered by
the sisters to rest in the temple for the next two weeks. (Lucky bastard!)

- The adventurers returned to the slums of Snolst and went to Grizon the armorer and weaponsmith,
where he improved their swords, giving them razored edges and a glowing reddish tint to the
iron blades.

-Three days later, they ventured back to the underground Wolf Pack lair. On the roof of the Nine Lions were three archers, presumably of the Wolf Pack. They did not seem to notice the adventurers in the crowded afternoon streets. Three city guards crossed the adventurers’ path, and witnessed Samhain kill a rooftop archer. The arrow struck true and slayed the fellow before he even knew what hit him. The other two quickly fled the roof through a hatch, and disappeared.

- The adventurers made it back down to the lair, killed the fleeing gang members, as well as other members of the Wolf Pack, including a woman wearing a black wolf pelt, who was just seconds from chopping up the merchant’s son.

- The adventurers are currently underground in a blood-stained room full of shackles, saws, and other torture devices. They know there are still more members of the gang hiding down in the sewers…

Still deep within the curious and ancient underground stone complex, our adventurers were being telepathically taunted by three tentacled demons. “You shall not find the spear! You shall not put the spear here!” After searching (again) for secret doors throughout the complex, our brave heroes decided to take the three evil entities head on. As an arrow was fired, the three merged into one considerably large hideous creature with several thick tentacles and two disquieting red eyes. The elf and three dwarves valiantly defeated their foe and found their way (after much difficulty) to a portal leading them to the floating spear. Samhain picked up the ancient weapon and was immediately compelled to place it on the pedestal where they fought the multi-apendaged creature. The spear was placed into the hole and a blinding white light flooded the complex. All of its cracked and moss-covered walls were replaced with pristine golden and white colors. An angelic voice spoke to the adventurers, thanking them for expelling the evil. They journeyed back to Dragon’s Run and returned the old tomes over to the Magicus Collectum where Wellington told them the Arch Mage would look them over and that they should return to the Collectum within the next few days. Samhain gave the demon eye and poison spider glands to Tildon in the Asirian Alchemy Shop in exchange for information on where to obtain poisons. He told Samhain to speak to Dolon Durje, a bartender at the Nine Lions Taproom. Ironically enough, as they were looking for a new adventure to embark upon, they learned this taproom was also a hideout of enemies of the city guard. They spoke with Dennen, one of the guard captains of Dragon’s Run, who explained to them that a gang of thieves had kidnapped a wealthy merchant’s son. The guard knows that the gang is affiliated with and operating out of the Nine Lions, but explained that whenever they try to enter, the gang has mysteriously cleared out. Frustrated and disgruntled, he asked the adventurers for help. He told them they would need some fancy clothes since it is a place for wealthy patrons. They went to Galindo’s Taylor Shop in Linil, (which was quite an uncomfortable experience for Samhain!), bought their fancy, if not eccentric clothing, and were off to the Nine Lions. They tried to enter the establishment but were not on the guest list, so the bulky guards told them to get lost. As they were leaving, Bogdog saw some men unloading crates from the back door. The heroes snuck around the corner and the dwarves attempted to distract the men carrying large sacks so Samhain could slip inside. As Bogdog hastily grabbed one of the sacks, several dismembered human body parts fell out of it. One man shouted to the others, “Kill them all! Nobody who sees this remains alive!” The chapter concluded with our well-dressed heroes covered in blood, and several dead men (and one dead dwarf) lying prone in a back alley, all accompanied by the sound of drunken debauchery coming from inside the taproom…

The adventurers had completed a very important quest for the Church of Ellophias- they had found one of the magical staves of their goddess in a remote monastery south of Dragon’s Run. They returned to the city the following day and went to see Mother Alaena who was eager to hear news of the monastery’s situation. After hearing the grim truth, she humbly thanked the party and healed them of their wounds (and curses!) She then asked for the staff. She took it in her hands, closed her eyes, and began chanting a soft song-like prayer in an attempt to telepathically locate it’s missing part. Unexpectedly, she began to violently convulse, her eyes rolled back, and she fell limp onto the cold stone floor of the church. The other priestesses rushed forth and attempted to awaken the high priestess to no avail. The adventurers had no appropriate skills to remedy the situation, so they left the church confused, leaving the other priestesses to take care of Mother Alaena, who now lies unconscious. Unsure of what to do, they ran some personal errands around the large city. After a while, they realized they were being followed by a dark cloaked figure whose face was hidden beneath a thick woolen dark brown hood. After becoming aware that they were being followed, the party approached the lurker. He removed his cowl, revealing his horrifying skinless muscle and cartilaged face. He introduced himself as Wellington, an apprentice of Faegen, Arch Mage of the magical university in Dragon’s Run, the Magicus Collectum. He told the party that he “happened” to overhear their conversation with Mother Alaena. The Collectum is also very interested in individuals willing to leave the saftey of the city and retrieve certain items. He told the party that if they were to find artifacts from ancient ruins the Magicus Collectum was excavating before the Curse, they would be paid handsomely for their efforts. After discussing amongst each other (and Jimmy the thief almost getting killed by a stray dog) the adventurers were off once again…
So far in this strange stone complex underneath a moss covered hill, the party has found a large gem inside of a room trapped with flames throughout the floor, a magical mace, a brass shield, a ring, a pristine golden necklace with a star-shaped diamond in its pendant, and several vials, scrolls and illegible tomes thousands of pages thick. They have encountered some armored skeletons, a nest of bats, and a horrifying trio of tentacled demons who telepathically repeat over and over “You shall NOT find the spear”…

When we last left our adventurers, they were trying to get their bearings around the crowded city streets of Dragon’s Run. They had been stationed in Snolst, one of the poor districts full of orphan children, dingy streets, and sinister characters. Samhain, the half-elven ranger and the dwarven trio; Bogdog, Kringle, and Mongo, had decided to visit Mother Alaena, the High Priestess of the Church of Ellophias. On their way, Mongo was approached by a fortune telling old hag who said to him, “A child’s toy will turn out to have a sinister purpose.” She then demanded 20gp. When the dwarves laughed at her and walked off, she placed a hex on Mongo, saying he only has three days to live, lest he give her the coin she demanded. Is this true? Perhaps we will find out in three days time… Once they reached the Church of Ellophias, Mother Alaena told the same thing that she had previously told Sir Geth, who was now watching over the 200 villagers he had chaperoned to the city. She explained that the sisters of a monastery of Ellophias, near the Hun Mountains north of Dragon’s Run, have not been heard from since the “Curse.” Mother Alaena even sent a large force of female battle-clerics to investigate, and they have yet to return. She fears the worst, but offered the adventurers 100gp for any information they could gather. She also asked them to find a Staff of Ellophias that was probably well hidden within the monastery. Within four hours, the party had arrived at the large wooden double doors. We have now learned that our half-elven friend has a bit of a drug habit, as he took a few hits of skooma before entering. Inside the monastery, they discovered several kinds of tracks but none resembling those of human females. As they went down the long entrance corridor, they were greeted by eight large spiders that had attempted to poison the adventurers and add them to the collection of victims hanging dead in their large web in a dark stone corner. Several oil flasks and one unconscious poisoned dwarf later, the encounter was over with a pile of scorched arachnids. Carefully searching further, they found the altar room had been desecrated. A large mural depicting Ellophias with her hands extended was covered in blood, burnt, and violently scratched. Samhain even noticed a word written in blood upon the mural: “Slaymonokk.” Further investigation lead to discovering a bedroom, where a bony snake-like creature with the head of a human skull had come from under the bed and performed a mesmerizing dance, attempting to paralyze the party. Unaffected, the dwarven trio and Samhain smashed the foul creature, sending bones flying all over the room. Bogdog had discovered a false wall, and lo and behold! They found three chests, one of them containing the Staff of Ellophias! Thinking their job done, they set off back to Dragon’s Run. As they left the room, they heard moaning and shambling footsteps. Eight morbid and grotesque figures were slowly approaching from the corridor. The party immediately recognized them as topless priestesses of Ellophias, now turned undead. Once again, our heroes survived with the help of flaming oil, and made it back to Dragon’s Run in one piece. They are now once again approaching the walls of the city, on their way to speak with Mother Alaena.

The journey begins with our adventurers traveling through the Lothan Forest. The last few weeks have seen the death and destruction of hundreds. A curse has befallen the land, and people seek refuge in the ancient city of Dragon’s Run. Sir Geth leading 200 villagers, strides bravely down the forest path. Zephyr the ranger scouts through the trees undetected, following the large party. The dwarven trio: Bogdog, Kringle, and Mongo join with Sir Geth and guard the rear of the large caravan. Along their journey they came across imposters posing as tax collectors from Dragon’s Run, but these liars’ coat of arms did not match that of the aforementioned city, and Sir Geth, with his noble words, managed to convince these thieves to stand aside and let them pass. He valiantly led them through the eerily silent forest, and that night as the large group of travelers set camp and lit their fires, the ranger slept high atop a tree in the forest, hidden from the large group, only to be approached by undead wolves in the night, alerting Sir Geth’s party. Sir Geth, the dwarven trio, and Zephyr managed to defeat these foul canines and protect the frightened villagers. If that wasn’t enough, one of the villagers was bitten that night by a man Sir Geth had allowed to join their party, who was carrying the undead infection. The next day they emerged from the forest and finally arrived before Dragon’s Run. Before their eyes was a large camp with hundreds of tents and armored soldiers on horesback at the base of the mountain of the legendary city. Sir Geth gave the woman who was bitten over to the guards, and the party spent the rest of the day mischievously. That night they heard horrible blood-curdling screams coming from the tent of those infected. These unfortunate souls were being burnt alive by the torch wielding guards. The reminder that these were dark times rang clear as the priestesses of the Church of the One Mother chanted prayers over the cries of agony… The following day, those in the encampment were allowed to enter beyond the gates of Dragon’s Run, and were stationed in the shanty-towns of Snolst. Hot, overpopulated, yet safer than before, what they have learned about the world so far is this: 1- King Effrim is no longer ruling the city, and many believe him to be dead . 2- Undead and beasts wander outside beyond the city walls. 3- Bandits have kidnapped a wealthy merchant’s son. Perhaps Dennen, a guard officer may know further information. 4- The cause of the “Curse” is unknown, but many believe it to be a doing of the elves seeking vengeance upon humanity for enslaving them centuries past. The more devout religious merely believe that the forces of evil now outweigh the forces of good, for their spells have lost potency.